Friends: The Benefits
by JustYourAverageCasualFan
Summary: Remus and Lily were always friends. So, they helped each other when needed. (A series of One-shots, not necessarily related).
1. Chapter 1

**Hence the Name**

Lily Evans- infamous prefect and 5th year Gryffindor- pelted across the dewy grass of the main quadrangle, ponytail flailing behind her. As she rushed in the to the gothic main building of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, almost taking flight as she did so, she almost missed the three teenagers lurking next to the store cupboard. Almost, that is.  
"Potter! What are you doing?" she demanded, resting her wand on her hip.  
The black haired idiot in question whipped round in surprise: an emotion mirrored by his three companions. _Three… _Black turned to the stumpy Pettigrew, who had suddenly appeared, and clobbered him. Said wizard subsequently disappeared in front of Lily's very confused eyes. What was more befuddling was the fact that the remaining Marauders, Lily's friend Remus in particular, were staring in dismay at a small rat, scurrying around in exactly the spot where Pettigrew had previously stood. Eventually, the cogs turned in Lily's mind and she paled, one word ricocheting in her mind over and over again: _Animagus._ It made sense, what with Remus' condition. Remembering her duties in the charms corridor (where patrols were required after a large amount of Peeves related casualties), Lily swallowed and, after a swift dismissal, sprinted off.

* * *

Two hours later- at six o' clock-, four teenage boys stood stiffly in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, the cheery red drapes a stark contrast to their gloomy moods. Lily spotted them immediately upon stepping through the portrait hole and marched over, her face a porcelain mask. Sparing barely a glance at school heartthrob Sirius Black and the diminutive Peter Pettigrew, she demanded "Are you all Animagus?"  
James nodded and so did Remus, although hesitantly. Lily looked at him "I know you're not."  
Potter's eyes flashed "What are you insinuating?"  
Lily ignored him, pointing her wand at Remus "What if you were to get caught? What if you were to injure on of your friends? Does Dumbledore know?"  
The werewolf gulped. The guilt swamping his eyes just about broke Lily's heart but she was relentless "Does he?"  
"No."  
She nodded. "Well, he will do soon."  
It was at that moment that Black snapped. He lunged towards Lily, spitting profanities, and would probably have ripped her head off if it weren't for James and Remus, who grabbed their friend. Even so, Lily did receive a nasty burn from the Black heir's wand.  
"Sirius!" admonished Remus, before motioning for Lily to go and following afterwards.

* * *

"Lily," Remus began, his voice ripping across the silence that had enveloped the pair "I'm sorry about Sirius." A sigh "He and James and Peter appear to be of the strong opinion that, well…"  
Lily couldn't look at the face that produced such a melancholy tone "They'll get expelled."  
"Yes, but I think Sirius was more concerned about me when that happens- he and James have money but I… well, let's just say that it'll be hard for me to get a job."  
"Shut up!" Lily brought Remus to a stop, staring at him intently "Have you no faith in me at all? Trust me."

* * *

Remus did trust Lily, and therefore, half an hour later when the pair descended the gargoyle staircase the werewolf was beaming. He was, however, rather curious "Why," he enquired of the redhead he had just embraced joyously "Would you- the mature and respected Lily Evans- bother to persuade the headmaster to enforce measures to make it easier for me and my friends to do about a dozen illegal things more safely?"  
"Well," the girl replied, executing a little pirouette "some rules are stupid and are just there to be broken- so long as you do it safely."  
Remus' eyes sparkled "Oh?"  
Lily checked that no-one was around. Missing the two invisible figures- for good reason- she continued conspiratorially "Well, you know Glastonbury…"  
"The place?"  
"Well, yes, but the music festival."  
"Oh." Unbeknownst to herself, Lily was receiving some appreciative nods.  
"Yep."  
"How did your Mum let you go to that?" Remus asked, thinking of the perfectly respectable woman Lily met at the station every summer.  
"I may have told her I was visiting Sev."  
At this Remus' good nature made an appearance "Did you go with anyone?"  
"Yes, I'm not mad you know." Then she winked at her friend "Probably."  
"You seem happy." Remus noted; much more buoyant than he'd ever seen Lily Evans, at least.  
"I'm relieved." She informed him "Do you have any idea how hard it is to be friends with someone when they don't know that you know that they turn in to a rabid beast once every few months?"  
"No."  
"Good, because I've had three years of it and I would hate to have diagnosed the wrong person with lycanthropy."  
"Th…three years!" spluttered Remus.  
Lily nudged him playfully "Come on, Lupin- it's in your name!"

**A/N: Because Lily cares about nearly everyone but that doesn't make her soft. Please review. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The more observant among you may have noticed that the story status has change to complete. This is not, as you would expect, because it is finished but because each entry is complete within itself. I own nothing mentioned. Please review if you have time.**

Lily Drew or the Letters of the Summer Holiday before 6th Year

Remus Lupin was bored. Very bored. Bored to the extent that he almost got excited when the clock hands moved. He could, he supposed, have contemplated life or imagined a story in his head but he had covered all of those options in the first week of the holidays. So it was a great relief to him when an unfamiliar owl fluttered up to his kitchen window one particularly dreary day. The owl, which was small, brown and unremarkable, deposited a little brown wrapped package and an envelope on the oak table. Remus fed the bird some of his toast- taking care to take off most of the marmalade, heavens knows what marmalade can do to an owl- and it flew off, hooting happily. The teen decided to open the letter first. It read:

_Dear Remus,_

_ Hello! How are you? I went to France with my family last week (I think I told you where exactly, but in case I didn't it was Lille, a lovely town in the north) and I got you a present. It was one of those 'saw this and thought of you' moments! Morgy- that's my owl's name by the way- should have brought it to you along with this letter but if she's lost it there's a charm you can use to get it back. _

_Other than that, Tuney is being beastly, I'm not talking to Severus and I have to stay in bed because I've broken my leg. Anything more exciting happening your end?_

_Love, _

_Lily_

Remus smiled. Yes, James and Sirius and Peter were a heaven send (although you wouldn't catch him admitting that to their faces) but it was nice to communicate with someone not entirely fuelled by their testosterone. Unwrapping the paper, Remus was also looking for his quill so it was quite a surprise when he got 'round to inspecting the gift. Lily's present was a framed muggle picture of a cartoon werewolf sitting calmly and reading a book under the full moon. This was especially hilarious as on a full moon not so long ago every one of the Marauders but Remus had found themselves in detention. Therefore, when Remus bade his apologetic friends good night, he was not in high spirits. However, when he was about to enter the whomping willow, the boy was stopped by a flushed redhead carrying a blanket and a battered copy of a muggle mystery book. Hesitantly, the pair entered the Forbidden Forest and Lily-with his permission of course-bound Remus with a charm. The sight of a werewolf hovering a meter above the ground being read to calmly by a fifteen year old girl wrapped up in a blanket was, on the other hand, not the strangest thing ever to be seen in that forest.

**Dear Lily,**

**Thanks for the present! France sounds lovely. Don't worry about your sister, she'll come round, and I'm sure you'll work something out with Snape. How did you break your leg? And why does it mean you have to stay in bed? I'm going to stay at James' soon so that should be fun but at the moment nothing much is happening. **

**I look forward to hearing from you, **

**Remus**

Lily's next correspondence arrived in a very peculiar way- through the letter box. Except, the Lupin's door had no letter box so the befuddled postman had to leave it on the porch.

_Dear Remus,_

_I'm not sure I'll be able to bridge the gaps in time. This has in part to do with the reason for my broken leg (I have to stay in bed to let it heal- no underage magic!), which is of the upmost secrecy. Hence the muggle post. Do you remember that book I read to you about the Hardy Boys? Well, I've been doing something quite similar for Dumbledore. You see, for some reason the so called Death Eaters appear to have set up camp near Cokeworth and this happened to coincide with a local disappearance. My interest, obviously, was piqued by this and when Dumbledore sent me a letter asking whether I could enquire as to whether there were any illicit dealings… well, I am a Gryffindor. Anyway, I did find some things- a lot of things, actually- and I will tell you about them, but in person. I was caught, though, by Black's cousin and as I ran away she conjured up a small wall which I tripped over. Not exactly heroic. _

_Yours faithfully, _

_Lily_

Remus tutted. So much for sensible. He was, however, quite concerned by the fact that his friend had been sneaking around and getting attacked by Sirius' relations. Then he burst in to mirth; if he was reacting like that, who knows what James would say? Remus scoured the land for another piece of parchment and the replied:

**Dear Lily,**

** You of all people should know that being Gryffindor isn't all about the action, or even the results but the will to do things quite possibly at your own cost for the good of others. I don't like to think of anyone in our school, people who we may have helped up in corridors (yes, we do that and I know you would), colluding to bring down society as we know it, but alas they may well be. When can I speak to you? I don't suppose your family would object to my visiting you at home?**

**Respectfully, Remus**

**P.S. I vaguely remember the book in question. Something about towers? But I suppose you were alluding to the spy element.**

The muggleborn's reply arrived disturbingly late in the holidays, after Remus had spent a luxuriously transformation free week at the Potters and when the boy was becoming considerably concerned for his fellow Prefect's well-being. It was written quite hastily, or at least with a shaking hand.

_Remus,_

_ Sorry for the late reply, sister dearest got a hold of EVERY magical item I had (including my owl) and threw them in to the river in what must be the worst tantrum anyone has ever had ever! Excuse my lapse in grammar, it is hard to remain polite when I am shaking with anger and- to be honest with you and myself- betrayal. All's well that ends well, though, and my parents made good old Tuney buy me all the stuff again. You should have seen her face when I went to Diagon Alley! It was an odd mix of pure elation and the bitterest contempt and petty childhood jealousy which made her features contort in such a way… Anyhow, meet me in London, it's hard to find people there and our encounter won't be remarkable. Come in to Charring Cross and find me in Trafalgar Square, I'll be by the left lion. 1PM on the 13__th__ August. _

_Love, Lily_

After a few days of wearing down his parents, Remus was finally granted permission to send a brief reply and then arrange a train ticket. As he sent of the owl he had one thought: _the things I do for my friends…_

**Dear Lily,**

** I'll be there.**

**Love, Remus**


End file.
